Tulsa World: The harmony of three

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The harmony of three
Corn, beans and squash depended on each other

The success of a Three Sisters garden depends on timing, seed spacing and selection of varieties planted. RUSSELL STUDEBAKER / Tulsa World

By RUSSELL STUDEBAKER In Our Gardens
Published: 11/28/2009 2:22 AM
Last Modified: 11/28/2009 8:34 AM

This is the time of harvest and thanks for the bounty that earth has given us. Our early European colonists would not have survived without the gift of the "Three Sisters" from the native Americans.

According to Iroquois legend, corn, beans and squash are the three inseparable sisters which grow and thrive together. These crops augment each other nutritionally: corn with carbohydrates, beans with proteins and amino acids lacking in corn, and squash with vitamins and fat from the seeds.

American Indians devised the ingenious method of intercropping these three crops simultaneously in the same growing area that was a rounded mound of soil. The three crops benefited all.

Corn was planted first in the center, and after a few weeks of growth climbing beans were planted. The corn provided a natural pole for the beans to climb and the beans improved the soil fertility by adding nitrogen to the soil, benefiting the other two sisters.

After a week or so, types of winter squash would be planted at the outer perimeter of the mound. Their leaves served as a living mulch by shading out emerging weeds and conserving soil moisture from evaporation.

The photo shows my modified Three Sisters garden this year on a 45-degree slope where English ivy had been removed. I made cuts spaced in the slope for two-foot, level planting areas. Prairie hay was spread to eliminate erosion and conserve moisture. For the beans, I cut 4-foot water sprouts from my cottonwood tree and assembled them in groups of three branches making a tee pee and bound the top with wire.

Although my Three Sisters garden was planted in early August, almost too late in the season, the corn and beans did well. The success of a Three Sisters garden depends on timing, seed spacing, and selection of varieties planted.

So at this holiday season we should be thankful for the fruit of the Three Sisters which American Indians have given us.

Sources

For my Three Sisters plantings, I used Mandan Red flour corn — though there are many varieties of corn to choose — Cherokee Trail of Tears pole beans, and Tennessee Sweet Potato squash.

Corn: Seeds of Change, (888) 762-7333, tulsaworld.com/seedsofchange

Cherokee Trail of Tears pole bean: Seed Savers Exchange, (563) 382- 5990, tulsaworld.com/seedsavers

Tennessee Sweet Potato squash: Pine Tree Garden Seeds, (207) 926-3400, tulsaworld.com/superseeds

There are more authentic native American heirloom squashes in the previous catalogs but I had seeds of this one.

Russell Studebaker is a professional horticulturist and garden writer from Tulsa.

By RUSSELL STUDEBAKER In Our Gardens

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	Report Comment Elusive, Owasso (11/30/2009 1:02:54 AM) Interesting, never thought of using corn to support green beans.
	Report Comment aint missbehavin, .. (12/20/2009 7:38:21 PM) really!why I never.

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